In the medical field, personnel are often required to work in close proximity to patients undergoing imaging and therapeutic, or surgical, procedures involving x-rays. The hazard to the worker arises (mainly) from x-rays scattered by the patient's body toward the worker. To minimize exposure the worker traditionally wears a radiation shielding garment that places a protective barrier between the scattering tissues of the patient and the body of the worker. Traditionally such garments are made from a flexible rubber or polymer material within which is embedded fine, particulate lead, or other heavy elements that are good absorbers of x-rays. Unfortunately such garments, containing sufficient heavy metal to be safe, are heavy, and can cause significant orthopedic injury to the wearer with daily use over a working lifetime. In fact, such orthopedic injury from repeated use of heavy protective garments significantly limits the working lifetime in medical professions using x-rays. Several suspension designs have been previously developed but generally use either a ceiling suspension or a floor mounted frame, requiring a specially designed protective curtain. Devices that suspend the weight of the protective curtain from the workers body can greatly reduce the risk of orthopedic injury and have been developed by a number of investigators. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,341, Herr et al., 1981: Radiation Protection Device Particularly for Medical X-Ray, Radiation Therapy and Diagnostic Use; U.S. Pat. No. 4,581,538, Lenhart, 1986: Radiation Shield; U.S. Application 2009/0256044 A1: Suspension System and Method; U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,864: Maleki 1991: Mobile Radiation Shield; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,185,778, Magram, 1991 X-ray Shielding Apparatus.